Audacity. | Harry Potter

EIGHTY

THE WEASLEY HOUSE hadn't intimidated Freya in years. She had always felt so comfortable there, but standing outside the door that evening, she felt terrified.

How could she justify that she left with no explanation? Even worse, why she came back?

The blonde aimlessly stood outside the door for an embarrassingly long time. Her only motivating factor was the fact that she was freezing and her feet still felt frozen solid from their encounter with the lake. Freya didn't really know the protocol for returning after pretty much running away. Did the situation call for a knock? Or was walking right on in appropriate?

Before she had the chance to make a decision, the door swung open, revealing Arthur Weasley who had a shocked expression as he laid eyes on her.

"Well Molly," He called loudly back into the house to his wife, "I found one of em'."

Freya was quickly ushered in by Mrs. Weasley who was talking so fast she was hardly audible. All Freya could make out was something about "no note" and "just asking for frostbite".

"Ron wanted me to let you know he's safe," The blonde cut in as the crowd around her grew in size, as did the commotion, "And he's with the others."

Taking in the room around her Freya realized the entire house was filled with members of the Order. There was hardly any standing room as all the wizards looked at her intently. Amity gave her a small wave, but Freya could tell something was wrong. Her eyes then fell on Remus and Sirius who had a strange looks across their faces.

"I didn't realize there would be such a fuss about us leaving," Freya kept looking around, confused as to why the entire organization was present.

She could feel everyone's eyes boring into her and it made her palms sweaty.

"Freya," Remus started to speak but was cut off.

"I'm sorry I left," She began to ramble with a massive amount of word vomit, "It was stupid and I regret it, and I should've stayed here-"

"Freya-" This time it was Sirius who spoke up, but he hardly got a word in either.

"I messed up okay!" Freya had a guilty expression and her hands were tightly gripping each other, "I said I'm sorry, but bloody hell why is everyone staring at me like that?"

The room went quiet as she asked the question, all eyes still remaining on her. The girl had never felt so observed in her entire life.

"Freya-"

"What Remus? You've said my name like a million times now," Her face was turning red from embarrassment, "I understand I messed up."

"Freya this isn't about you leaving." Sirius spoke in a soft tone.

"What is it about then?" The blonde was frustrated now, everything was confusing and she already felt awful enough as it was. Hearing where the conversation was going, most of the adults left the room, leaving just Freya and the two men standing across from each other.

"It's about your Dad."

Freya suddenly felt hollow, like all her insides had been carved out of her body. She could hear her ears begin a high-pitched ring, and her breathing slowed down to just shallow movement. A wave of nausea came over her as she looked at Sirius, who's mouth was moving but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

"What happened?" Freya croaked, her voice barely reaching above a whisper.

"They figured out who you were," Remus answered.

"Draco Malfoy told them you were close to Harry, and any information he knew about you," Sirius added, "No one had heard from Harry in weeks and the Death Eaters wanted to bring him out of hiding."

"You're saying they were looking for me?"

"They were."

"My dad," Freya's voice trembled as her mind raced to every possible conclusion, "Is he alive?"

Sirius and Remus exchanged a look before the black haired man answered, "He is, yes."

Relief washed over Freya's being, but it was short lived. Her father was clearly injured in his attack, enough to warrant grave concern from all those who knew him.

"The rest of my family?" She asked weakly, "Finnick? Catherine? She-She's pregnant." Her heart sank as she added the last part.

"Both okay," Sirius answered her, "They were the ones who found him."

"Mmhm," Freya nodded, emotion slowly overcoming her, "How bad is he?"

"He's lucky to be alive," The man answered truthfully, he knew better than to make the situation sound any better than it was, "He was very badly hurt."

"How bad is very bad?" She winced, it pained her to even imagine the shape her father was in.

"He-" Sirius paused and took a breath, "He will never walk again," His face was full of sorrow, "He was paralyzed from the waist down."

"This is all my fault," The blonde stammered, losing her composure hearing the extent of her fathers injuries, "This is all because of me."

"Freya, no." Remus made an attempt to console her unsuccessfully.

"Yes Remus," Her face was full of anguish, "Every single thing about this is my fault. I was born a witch, I write the future, I was dating the fucking boy who lived! You can't tell me this wasn't my fault."

Freya began to spiral, heavy tears falling from her eyes. Her breathing began to quicken to the point of hyperventilating, her chest heaving up and down. Sirius approached the girl but it didn't help, her sobs filling the room. The last 24 hours had brought her so much pain that her body couldn't handle it any longer. She got lost in her mind thinking about her mother lying in a hospital bed as her father was doing now and it shattered her heart. There was nothing in the world that meant as much to Freya Majors as her family did. Greyson sacrificed everything for his children without hesitation, he was the most loving man Freya had ever known. Knowing he was in pain was worse than any physical wound Freya could imagine.

Sirius grabbed the girls shoulders forcefully, squeezing her tight and looking right into her blue eyes.

"This is not your fault Freya," He said in a very firm tone, "Not for a second."

The man could feel the girl relax slightly under the pressure and continued, "Your father is alive because of you. You think they would've spared him if they found you there?" Sirius's own emotion was strong as he looked at her, "The only reason he is still breathing is because you were here, doing what was best for him. If you were with him, you'd both be dead."

Freya nodded through her tears

"They wanted to send a message, and they did, but he's alive because of it."

The blonde felt like it was the first time in a long while that someone had truly been honest with her. She appreciated it more than Sirius Black would ever know.

The blonde took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears from her pink cheeks, a hard expression growing across her face as they dried. She knew if she and the ones she loved had any chance of surviving this war, she would have to be strong. The girls exterior stiffened and she stood taller, Freya had been forced to grow up, and it was time to deal with the real world.

"Where is he?" She asked the man in front of her, "I need to see him."

"I'm afraid you can't," Remus stepped out from behind Sirius, "It's much safer to keep you away."

"My brother," Freya shifted her gaze to him, "Where's my brother?"

"Safe," Sirius reassured her, "Him, Catherine, and your Father are all at a safe house."

The blonde nodded, satisfied with the answer but her heart yearned to go with them.

"They know about you now Freya," He spoke with a fearful undertone, "This changes everything."

sheesh our girl can't get a break:(
sorry if I scared you all a wee bit, but everyone's favorite dad is still kickin

xoxo